UPDATE: Wareham Police called to YouTube allegation address 63 times since 2000

Thursday

Jun 19, 2014 at 1:37 PMJun 27, 2014 at 1:17 PM

The address where a man claims in a YouTube video that police struck his mother has been the subject of more than 60 police calls since 2000, according to a press release issued by Wareham Police.

The video, which is below, includes profanity. Police provided audio of the dispatch call, which is also below, and copies of the log entries.

Frank Mulliganfmulligan@wickedlocal.com

The address where a man claims in a YouTube video that police struck his mother has been the subject of more than 60 police calls since 2000, according to a press release issued by Wareham Police.

The most recent past call was for an unwanted guest in March. There were also 11 attempts to serve a summons, and three general disturbance calls in 2013.

According to police records, there were 14 calls to the address in 2013, six in 2012, nine in 2011, four in 2008, five in 2007, two in 2006, six in 2005, and one in each of the years of 2004, 2003, and 2000.

The police on Wednesday were called to the house by a neighbor on a report that two men were fighting outside the home while a 3 year old was present outside, police said.

The release states, "On June 18, 2014 at approximately 10:37 a.m., a Communication Officer at the Wareham Police Dept. received a call concerning two people fighting at 17 Camardo Drive and an unsupervised 3-year-old girl left outside. ... The Communication Officer sent two officers to the scene to investigate the report.

"A 58-year-old female was transported from the scene by Wareham EMS to Tobey Hospital, and released shortly after her arrival from the hospital.

This matter is under investigation."

A man who used his phone to record a portion of the Wareham police stop at his mother’s Wareham home on what he said was an abandoned child call alleges during the tape that one of the officer’s struck his mother in the face. The video has been uploaded to YouTube.

Interim Police Chief Kevin Walsh said earlier that the incident was being investigated. “When we heard of the incident our investigation began. We don’t rush to judgment. We’ll do an investigation on the whole context of the incident.” He added as of Thursday afternoon police had not received a formal complaint. The officers will remain on duty during the course of the investigation.

Richard Phillips in a telephone interview said he and his brother were at his mother’s Wareham home, that his 3-year-old niece had been playing in front of the house, near the wide-open front door. He said when the two officers arrived the child was back inside the home.

He said police were told the child was fine, but refused to leave, and threatened to kick the door in unless they were allowed to see the child. He said he told police they couldn’t come in without a search warrant. He said the two officers were able to see the child was safe, but then refused to leave, saying they had a separate call on men without shirts fighting on the lawn.

He said he began recording when they continued to maintain they be allowed in the home.

One of the officers apparently grabs for the phone during the taping and that’s when the voice over, which Phillips said was his voice, says he hit his mother. Phillips said during the phone interview that he didn’t know if the officer’s intent was to grab the phone.

He said he called 911 for an ambulance for his mother. A police sergeant was called to the scene. He said the sergeant told officers to arrest the people within the house if they came out.

Phillips said he had to call 911 for an ambulance more than once, but that one did respond and took his mother to Tobey Hospital and the police left. She was released, but the family was concerned with her heart. She’s had heart problems in the past, he said, and they took her to St. Luke’s in New Bedford. She was released a little before 4 a.m. Thursday.

Phillips said the family was pursuing legal action, and that he wanted the two officers who responded to the door, subjected to the strictest penalties under the law including losing their jobs, that he felt they were trespassing, and had entered unlawfully, committed assault and battery, and armed home invasion.

The tape shows the officers outside the open door, with Phillips saying he was recording. One of the officers appears to grab for the phone. After that, Phillips is heard on the tape saying the officer had slapped his mother, and he apparently began calling 911.